Callum McGregor believes a fear of Celtic's undefeated run coming to an end is inspiring Brendan Rodgers' side to keep hitting the heights.

A John McGinn double had Hibernian on the brink of causing an upset at Celtic Park last month and threatened the Scottish champions' 59-game streak without a domestic loss.

McGregor stepped up with two goals of his own to salvage a point.

The two sides meet again in a showpiece semi-final at Hampden on Saturday and the Scotland midfielder insists protecting their period of invincibility continues to motivated the players.

"Going into the game you don't think about it too much," said McGregor. "Every game is a tough game when you are playing for Celtic but when you go down or are level you can sense that we don't want this to slip.

"It galvanises the players a wee bit, to give that wee bit extra to make sure the run doesn't go

"When they (Hibs) scored their second goal you look about and think the strength of the squad and character of the squad came through and we got the equaliser."

The 24-year-old was part of the Scotland squad for the crucial double-header that ultimately saw the national side fail to reach the World Cup.

McGregor went unused during both games despite calls for his introduction from the stands.

While he failed to feature, the playmaker insists the experience was an invaluable one.

"It's massive," he said. "An international player, that is where you want to be. You want to learn and take things from other people's games that can make you a better player.

"The experience is invaluable. If I can take that into my game and hopefully break into the team soon, I need to put in the performances for Celtic then if I can get to the level great.

"The main priority is to do well for Celtic, to take it step by step and hopefully if I put in the club performances I can get there."